Doublelift frustrated with Riot, discusses walkout situation

LCS veteran Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng recently shared his opinions on the controversial and unprecedented player walkout.

Riot Games recently announced that esports organizations with franchised teams in the LCS no longer had to have an Academy level team. In response, many teams dropped their Academy teams and staff immediately, leaving a lot of promising talent without a clear path to pro — or income — anymore.

In response, the LCS Players’ Association staged a walkout with all of the pro-LCS players that almost resulted in Riot Games allowing orgs to sign lower-ranked players just to keep the Summer Split on schedule. But Riot also threatened in an official statement that the Summer Split could ultimately end up canceled completely, disqualifying LCS teams from Worlds.

This didn’t sit well with the League of Legends community, but the pros were largely silent while the LCSPA asked Riot reps to meet and discuss their demands. But now, Doublelift has shared his thoughts on the entire situation.

Doublelift doesn’t agree with LCSPA requests

The iconic 100 Thieves player published a YouTube video on June 3 that discussed his feelings on the walkout. While he participated in the walkout along with his teammates, he didn’t actually agree with most of the requests made by the LCSPA.

Doublelift explained that the requests were largely “unreasonable” and didn’t align with what “everyone should want.” This included LCSPA’s demand to have a “Valorant-style” regulation and promotion system, which he felt would negatively impact the LCS since they didn’t have enough LCS-level players, to begin with.

“Instead of adding two spots, they need to somehow find a way to cut two teams. I think the LCS should have eight teams. There are too many spots and not enough competitive teams,” Doublelift told fans.

He also felt that the LCSPA’s $300,000 revenue pool for each NACL team for players’ salaries was a bit extreme. While he did want a “reasonable floor,” he felt that $60,000 per player was not the answer. Instead, he said, Riot should bring back tournament prize pools for Tier 2 teams, which would act as a way to motivate players.

Doublelift wasn’t on Riot’s side either, however. He made it clear that Riot Games didn’t do a good job dealing with Tier 2 competition. He told fans that it was wrong not to give notice before removing the Academy requirement, knowing that it would negatively impact players’ lives.

“They deserve at least some level of warning that your entire scene is exterminated,” he said.

That’s why, even though he was unsure about the LCS Players’ Association’s requests, he supported the walkout. Doublelift said that he wanted Riot to support the Tier 2 scene, “not kill it.” He wanted to “take a stand” after Riot “killed” people’s jobs without any notice or discussion.

But that doesn’t mean Doublelift was hoping for a delay of the Summer Split. He admitted that he would give up on the walkout if it would cause the Summer Split to be canceled.

For now, the Summer Split is on a two-week break. The action will (potentially) continue on June 15, 2023.